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As much as I love makeup and beauty, I don't love the effect it has on my wallet. It can definitely get expensive when you wander into a lush department store, so it's good to know where to look and what to look for. This is hopefully where this post comes in handy, so you know your money won't go to waste.

Skin is so personal, so it's really important you know your skin type before spending upwards of £20 on a base product. TheClarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanning Lotion is something I believe would work for everyone. It's not as moisturising as a typical moisturiser, so make sure you don't buy this as a replacement. I tend to pop this on over my daily moisturiser as an extra layer to give some colour back into my complexion. This is a gradual tan and develops naturally throughout the day, or overnight, depending on when you apply. The reason I say splurge is because I haven't found anything like this from the drugstore, and if you use it 2/3 times a week it should last a while. Another base product I would recommend testing out is the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation. This is a gorgeous medium coverage, buildable foundation which has a natural finish on the skin. It smells like suncream which is interesting but I don't hate it...If you want to invest in a new foundation for the spring and summer time, I would highly suggest checking this out!

For the eyes, there are endless eyeshadow palettes that I could talk about, but the one I get the most use out of is the Urban Decay Naked Basics. If you love neutral shadows and want a palette to take you from day to night this is fab. It's all mattes which makes it very wearable, and you can also use the brown tones for your eyebrows if ya fancy. The quality is amazing and it's very travel friendly.
I don't tend to talk about high end mascara's, as I think you can get some amazing ones at the drugstore, but when I find one I love, I have to give it a mention. This is the Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes, and it's the most defining mascara I have every tried, no joke. This is the most amazing mascara to pair with a smokey eye, as it makes your lashes really stand out against any shadow and liner. The wand is massive but it tappers in at the end so you can coat each and every individual lash. The formula isn't very wet, so it's really easy to build, it doesn't smudge and it works great on the lower lashes.

I feel like lipliners have really taken off over the past year, and we all know why that is...MAC has a great selection of nudes which are raved about all the time, but I wanted to include a red today. MAC Trust In Red is a beautiful berry red shade. It's not a true red, but I still love it with my bold pinks and reds as it makes them stay all day and not bleed. The formula is lovely and it feels creamy on the lips, even though the finish is matte. MAC lipliners in general are worth every penny, but this shade is great for you bold lip lovers.

Concealing - especially my under eyes - is a task I find challenging, 1. Because I have dry under eyes and 2. Because my dark circles are notoriously dark. This basically means piling on my concealer to counteract dark circles, means it won't sit right on my skin, and I could never win, until now. I've been trying out many different concealing techniques to help cover up bags and redness, but make it look natural at the same time. If you suffer with dry and dehydrated skin, especially under the eyes, I hope this is helpful in some way.

First step would be to make sure you've used a good moisturiser and eye cream beforehand. I find leaving my skincare products to sink in for around 10 minutes is really good as it means my makeup won't slip around on top and the products have been given a few minutes to get to work. For eye creams I would recommend a cooling gel or a lightweight cream to help de puff eyes and add some moisture before we crack on with the concealing. My favourites are the Origins Ginzing eye cream and the Clinique All About Eyes.

The first concealer I reach for is one of those heavy duty correctors to get rid of the blue tones under my eyes. I've been using my Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage Concealer Kit for this and I love it. To counteract the blue tones under your eyes you want to go for a concealer which is peach in tone. I simply use my finger for this as I find it easiest to warm up the product and it blends a lot better. After you've applied this you'll find that it will have done most of the work, but I still like do a few extra steps.
Here is where I would apply my foundation. You can use a brush, beauty blender or your fingers for this, but make sure your patting the product around the eye area, as swiping will erase all the work we've just done. I find this helps to lock the corrector in place and gives us a nice base for any extra concealing.

Finally I will use the creamiest concealer I can find, lately it's been the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer which I've detected a whole post to so I'll link that here! This is where I used to find things got a bit messy for me, no matter how creamy the concealer, I would never be happy with the way it sat under my eyes. Since experimenting, I find the best way is to use your fingers and work in small layers. I will use my finger to get a small amount of the product off the wand (as oppose to using it straight from the tube) then simply dab it under my eyes. I will blend in a triangle shape to brighten and lift the area, and find this method really blends the product in and makes it look super natural. I will repeat this 1 or 2 times until I'm satisfied with the coverage. If you do have dry skin it's really important to use a creamy concealer so it doesn't cake under the eyes, Nars do a great one too!

Lastly you want to set in all in place with a translucent powder to make sure it's not going anywhere!

We are approaching wedding season, and I have to say they are probably one of my favourite occasions to get ready for. I have one coming up this weekend and I thought I'd breakdown a few of the things I'm going to be wearing, and slapping on my face, to serve as some inspiration to you all.

This beautiful Kate Spade bag is a new addition to my wardrobe and one I purchased after realising I don't actually own a black evening bag...so I kind of needed it right...For me, it's the perfect size to fit in all my essentials and it looks super classy and will go with everything. I love that it has a leather strap which is really comfortable to wear, and the chain detailing is a lovely touch. Inside, it's filled with very cute polka dot lining and has one main compartment along with a little pocket, perfect for you phone, cash or whatever really. I can see myself getting so much use out of this and of course I'll have it linked below for you guys.

Moving on to a few beauty bits now, and I love pretty, glowing makeup for an occasion like this, and to start that off I'm going to be slapping on my Dior Glow Maximising Primer. I love this stuff for when I'm going out and want my makeup to look flawless as it adds such a nice glow to the skin without being shimmery. Depending on the finish of my foundation I'll either apply it before my foundation, or mix it in, and both work a treat. I also love to go with a slightly shimmery blush to help my cheekbones stand out. I'm loving the Laura Mercier Lush Nectarine blush, which is a gorgeous coral pink shade with gold shimmer running throughout. If you're looking for a new blush to see you through the spring and summer definitely check this one out, it looks fab with a tan! For eye's the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in Amber Haze was my first choice. This is a gorgeous taupe brown which compliments green, brown and hazel eyes beautifully. They blend like a dream and stay on all day which is what I love about them. I'm also going to add some lashes to the look. I was pretty scared of false eyelashes, and I have to admit I've never actually used or applied them before, so wish me luck. Lately, so many eyelashes on the market actually look natural and easy to apply, so I opted for the Fluer Loves Lashes which are part of her collaboration with Eyelure. They look very fluttery and natural so hopefully they'll go down a treat. On my lips I'll of course be reaching for my Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillow Talk, such a classic. This is fab for shaping and defining the lips without going overboard and looking like you've just stepped out of a 90s music video. This shade works really well with a nude lipstick and makes it last for a good portion of the day.

A couple of extra things I thought I share is my nail choice and fragrance. The former is Essie's Cocktails and Coconuts, my favourite nude shade ever. I was going to opt for a pink, but my dress is red so I thought nude would be better. I think lighter pastel shades are also lovely for occasions as they aren't too in your face but make you nails looks beautiful and well groomed. For my scent I think I'll be dispensing some of the Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt into my travalo. This is gorgeous woody scent which I would recommend everyone trying at least once, I haven't heard a bad thing about it, it really is a stunning scent.

I adore LUSH, and their seasonal collections get me every time. The things they have out at the moment for Easter are so super cute, and I think I may have discovered my favourite bath bomb scent ever, but no spoilers! They have a mix of bath bombs, melts, soaps, so something to please everyone and the scents vary also.

The first one I reached for was Fluffy Egg, which is a bath bomb. This has their Snow Fairy scent, so if you love a sweet treat in your bath, you'll love this. For reference, it's the cute little pink one with a yellow flower! If you haven't used LUSH before, you simply drop this into your bath when it's running or when it's done and let is fizz away! This one should turn your bath pink.

Moving onto Humpty Dumpty, a childhood classic, and mine definitely has some character lets just say that...This is another bath bomb and smells very fresh a little bit citrusy. I believe he also has a yolky core, not real egg yolk obviously, which meant to be nourishing on the skin and add an element of sweetness.

Now for my favourite bath bomb of all time, big claim, but boy this stuff smells like heaven! If you love chocolate, vanilla scents but find some at LUSH of them too powdery and subtle, you have to give Golden Egg a try. This is bath bomb melt, therefore it's more moisturising on the skin and is infused with even more skin loving ingredients. It's toffee scented and is packed full of cocoa butter which gives it a gorgeous scent. The only bug bare I have with this is the glitter! It looks pretty, but is not practical in the slightest and makes it very hard to move around for a photo...

In the mornings I like to keep things very simple and quick so I can spend as much time in bed as I can! What I tend to do - and what I would recommend if you're not a morning person like me - is to treat your skin really well at night, so when you wake up it'll looking glowing and fresh. This in turn means you can skimp out a bit when it comes to your morning routine. For reference my skin is dry/normal, so I really focus on products that are going to nourish and inject some life back into my dull skin.

Starting off, I will always use my Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel, it's my favourite to use in the morning as I find it leaves my skin glowing. It's a gel to cream formula which works great for those with dryer skin. It also removes any makeup you may have left on from the day before! It's a light formula so I prefer to use this in the mornings than at night, but it's a great all rounder. So here is where I tend to brush my teeth then move straight for an oil or serum. Lately I've been really loving my Kiehl's Daily Reviving Concentrate which plumps and firms the skin. This is a fairly new product from the range and although it hasn't lasted me as well as I thought, I would repurchase. I use a few drops on my fingertips then press it into the skin to ensure it sinks in beautifully. If you suffer from dull and lacklustre skin, I would definitely recommend investing in an oil as they really do help to inject a bit of a glow back into the skin.

I've got a new moisturiser that I've been testing out for a few weeks and I love it. I've always walked past the Pixi stand and swooned over all the gorgeous packaging and how everything seems so enticing and would work great for my skin, so I finally caved. The H2O Skindrink is a blue gel formula - not blue on the skin though, promise - which helps to hydrate the skin. I normally use cream formulas for my moisturiser, but coming out of these harsh winter months I feel like my skin needed a bit more, and this definitely gives it that! I also love the handy pump! Pixi skincare is fairly new to the beauty world and the pricing is reasonable I would say, most products range from £10-£20. If my moisturiser doesn't include SPF I will always use one on top. When you think about applying a suncream to your face, you may just think about a thick cream clogging your pores, but actually there are loads that don't fall into that perception. The Kiehl's Ultra Light Daily UV Defence SPF 50+ is one I've used for about a year now and I love it. It's a light cream which feels like your popping on another layer of moisturiser. I can't stress enough how important it is to protect your skin from the sun so make sure you are always including some sort of SPF in your routine. The higher the better!

I love spring and buying new clothes for the warmer months is always an exciting prospect. I'm really into buying more simple pieces that I know will work well with what I have already and I can carry me through other seasons. I'm also really into investing in staple items, but that's something I'm going to be working on for the whole year, once I've saved up the money! If you love to pick up a few new bits every season, ASOS is a great place to go because they do lovely pieces to cover all price ranges. Here are a few pieces I'll be adding my basket this spring.

I was so happy to see that a drugstore brand has come out with a makeup setting spray! I love my Urban Decay one, as does everyone, but having a cheaper alternative is always fab. I had high hopes for the L'Oreal Infallible Fixing Mist and I have to say I do really love it.

The packing is very simple and the spray top is also great and disperses a nice fine mist which doesn't make the skin feel wet, just dewy. When I first used this, it did feel very similar to the Urban Decay Setting Spray, in that you can feel it on the skin but it's not too much and sinks in quickly. It freshens up your skin and I find it great if I'm having a heavy base day as it meshes everything together and makes my skin look dewy and natural.

When it's cold and rainy outside my makeup lasts for a about 5 minutes which isn't ideal, so this has become a firm favourite in my everyday makeup routine. I normally spritz this after I've done my base and eye makeup, but before mascara, to set everything in place. Now for the lasting power...I do find it keeps my makeup fresh and on my skin for the whole day. I'm not one to wear my makeup for longer than I need to, so on an average day my makeup will be on my skin for around 6 hours, and this mist does keep it on for that whole time I'm glad to report.

If you've been really keen to try out the Urban Decay Setting Spray, I would definitely recommend saving some cash and going for this instead. They feel very similar on the skin and the lasting power I find is super comparable too.